Psycho-Pass – 18
Whoa, this was NOT in the employment contract!
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My reading week is over so I’m back to shunning all my friends in favour of studying my ass off. In terms on anime, I managed to catch up to Shinsekai Yori and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure during the break, which was a hell of a lot of fun. JoJo especially! But this post is not about either of those shows. It’s about Psycho-Pass and making some huge decisions. |
Kougami’s departure from the police left a bitter aftertaste that made the first part of the episode feel worse than it was to me. I’m not entirely sure why it’s so disappointing either. It’s not like he’s left in the sense that we’ll never see him again, because that’s far from the truth. But he has left Akane’s side and I feel like watching Kougami go at this alone will be…boring. He just isn’t a very interesting character when he doesn’t have someone else to play off of. He is contrasted yet complemented by Akane extremely well. Without her, it’s just another tired and true “revenge” story. Even though Kougami explicitly says it’s not for revenge, I can’t see it as anything but that.
Although I had a kneejerk negative reaction to Kougami going off on his own, I realize that in a way his choice makes sense. If he stayed with the police, he’d get Akane and Ginoza in big trouble for not properly monitoring him. He also wouldn’t have access to a real gun – especially with the Chief chasing him with a death wish. He couldn’t do anything under her watchful gaze. This was the best option to keep his friends safe and complete his objective with the highest success rate. Still…something about it makes me wary. It might turn out to be interesting, but I lament the loss of development between Akane and Kougami for now (they may meet up again later).
On the other hand, Akane is a lot more inherently interesting. The changes in Kougami from episode 1 to now are miniscule compared to her. She has gone from a confused idealist to a tough as nails detective who can think almost as swiftly as Kougami. She’s proven that she is able to maintain her morals in the face of corruption and keep her Hue as clear as a sunny day. While I think watching Kougami by himself could be boring, I think Akane is now a strong enough character to carry scenes on her own. However, she has peaked, and now it’s time to take away her support and see how she manages. If she can be just as good or better without her partner, then that marks yet another personal victory for her. This is the real test.
Anyways, enough worrying about the future! I don’t like writing too much about things that haven’t even happened yet – and might not even happen. All the Kougami and Akane moments were sweet, but this episode is for Ginoza just as much as it is for them. This was a great week for him because it shows a side he’s less prone to revealing: his powerless side.
He always puts on the air of someone in control, but that’s to hide how futile his efforts are. He cannot write reports about the truth, disobey the Chief’s orders, or pursue the cases he wants to. He has to lie or play dumb with the Enforcers because there’s nothing he can do no matter how much they complain. He wants to question Makishima as much as they do, but he’s forced to play the bad guy and act like it’s his idea too. It’s like he’s feeling so much cognitive dissonance that the only way to reconcile what he’s doing is to trick himself and others into thinking that these decisions were all originally made by him. He never really fools anyone (including himself), so he’s torn between what he wants to do and what he has to do. Both options don’t have pleasant consequences attached.
Ginoza gets very few conversations with his father, but they all show that Masaoka has a genuine tenderness for his son. He is able to be there when needed, but maintain distance when Ginoza is in “job mode” and chastises him for even entering his personal bubble of space. I have no idea how he can be so patient with a son who treats him as an Enforcer when it’s convenient and an advice-dispenser when it’s even more convenient. I seriously wonder why they gave us a Yayoi episode instead of a Masaoka one when I think he’s one of the best characters. At the very least, he has more than one line per week on an average basis.
Anyways, I digress. Masaoka advises Ginoza to just go with the flow and do what he’s told. His first attempt to make his own choice and secretly transfer Kougami ends up horribly though. He almost ends up killing him. Seeing that Ginoza is holding together his sanity with only a few threads already, I’m worried about his Hue. Furthermore, this is almost like an extremely harsh lesson that trying to do the right thing instead of following orders always leads to negative consequences. He very may well take his father’s advice now and just go limp.
On a side note, Ginoza almost killing Kougami was the best scene in the episode. I did not expect the Chief to waltz over and hack the gun so it would go to Lethal mode. I mostly thought she wouldn’t dare to do this since no one else has been shown to be capable of this, and it makes her really suspicious. Isn’t anyone else confused how just touching a gun could make it malfunction? Do they really think it’s just defective? Anyways, it was a bit of a deja-vu moment from episode 1 where Akane shot Kougami. This time, the circumstances are very different, but it reminded me once again how much she’s changed from the Akane in episode 1.
…She’s still pretty darn moe though :3c
awwwww
Bonus Screenshots: Show ▼
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
Ack. The feels in this episode. Kougami…why!? T_T Even if it did make sense, that note…
Plus now I wonder if Kougami will make it through this alive. He did tell Akane to make the correct choice when she sees him again and well…dang it. The KougamiXAkane shipper in me is slipping away fast.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I approve of the Kougami x Akane ship but it looks like things are going for a tragic end. Both OPs had Akane pointing her Dominator at Kougami and given that this is Urobuchi’s work, who doesn’t hesitate to kill off main or supporting characters even if we’ve come to like them, expect some unpleasant events to unfold.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
Agreed. Akane knows how to shoot Kougami by now. It has been established both in episode 1 and now here where she points it at him and paralyzes him.
So she probably will have to come to that point where it isn’t just paralyzing… UGH, I don’t want that but it is Urobuchi.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Ouch, that would be a painful ending…but anything is possible with Urobuchi.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Gen Urobuchi: master of anime sadism and role model for fans of the genre.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
No, I don’t think she will do it. She has a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong, but she’s not blindli following any rules like Ginoza. She’s more open, forgiving and understanding, so unless Shinya goes batshit crazy, I don’t think that she will kill him.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
If he becomes a serious killer though… I wouldn’t put it past Urobuchi to force her into killing him. She is supposed to stick to her ideals, after all. She’s forgiving but she is now a serious detective. She understands the system a bit more than her ideal self in the beginning did.
Urobuchi has stated that every time he tries to write a love story it turns into horror. If anything he’ll pick a bittersweet routeShow ▼
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POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, if the situation called for it, I can see her doing it. She’s strong enough to kill him. But it would only be if she had to for some specific reason. She wouldn’t just do it because she was ordered to. Namika, it actually might be pretty possible that Kougami goes batshit insane. Seriously, never underestimate Urobutcher…
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Weeell, I can’t argue with you on that. If the situation will be bad enough she will definitely do it, but I have faith in Shinya. And in Urobuchi Gen too. He HAS to create something that will make the watcher smile, not tear out their hearts once again ;A;
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
As other people pointed out, the animation quality in this episode was pretty derpy at times. Masaoka’s mouth looked like Charlie McCarthy.
And we probably got a Yayoi episode because otherwise her total number of lines in the whole series would be on the order of 10. At least Masaoka is a presence. Without her episode, Yayoi might as well be scenery. Shion has far more screen time, even, and she’s locked in the lab. Here’s a question: Is Shion a latent criminal as well?
I didn’t have much problem with Kougami going rogue. If he stayed around the Ministry, he was GOING to get killed. The chief wants him dead, but doesn’t want it to look like she did it. And for me, I don’t see it as about revenge as much as it is actual justice. Yeah, Akane would like to convene a court and try him by the old methods, but he’d certainly get off with that. Kougami knows that unless someone kills Makishima, he’s going to keep killing people, because he’s not going to be held. So yeah, we’re back to Dirty Harry.
A question I started thinking about: What if that stuff the chief was spinning about Makishima not being able to be ready by the Sibyl system is actually a load of bullshit. What if the Sibyl system knows full well who that is, and is playing favorites? You’d think that if that was the case, tho, they could say “Oh, we want to get that guy for our scheme, let’s jigger his number so that he gets paralyzer mode!” Thinking about it, why don’t they do that ANYWAY. Sibyl = a bunch of idiots, apparently.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Yeah, it was indicated in episode 2 that Shion is also a latent criminal during her conversation with Akane on their first meeting. And she’s mostly locked in her lab because other than her effeciency in analysis, she delegates employee health care.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
I agree, it seems like maybe all the brains of Sibyl are messing with Kougami’s number so they can get what they want. There’s no way he is always on paralyze setting. And the same with Makishima- “oh, look, he is a creep like us! we want a new friend in here! pleasssseee~”
(I wrote the part about Kougami first and I’m too lazy to flip it around to match the fact that you were talking about Makishima not Kougami, sorry if it confuses you a little.)
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, that’s what I’m kind of confused on. If they were really consciously monkeying with Makishima’s number, and they want him caught alive, then it would be really easy to recognize him in a scan and say “set his number at 250 so he’ll get paralyzed.”
With Kougami, actually, he *is* always on paralyze setting, both because he’s a registered latent criminal who is an enforcer (hence the “enforce at will” indication), and because he’s really got a psycho pass at 280 all the time.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, that’s really weird that they don’t have the power to change Makishima’s number. You think over 200 people could properly judge him. I thought the whole point of having human brains was to calculate things the system couldn’t and give an opinion of sorts. Guess they can’t just jack his number up to catch him since that goes against the system.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
The question is “why not?” The dominators identify people, don’t they? So hey, flag “Makishima Shougo” and then assign him a Psycho Pass that gets him paralyzed.
It shouldn’t take me to think up this stuff. If they’re going to claim omnipotence and running the world, but then they drop the ball on something like this, it gets hard to swallow. And that’s what a lot of my annoyance is with the series. And I don’t know how much is Urobuchi, and how much is other writers on the staff, but compared to something like Shin Sekai Yori, where that world they’ve built in the anime is tight as a drum, or even Robotics;Notes with its Unobtanium plot devices, Psycho-Pass looks like swiss cheese. You want the characters to be making it up as they go along, not the writers, but that’s exactly what it feels like.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Regardless of the fact that he doesn’t lave a lot of screentime, Masaoka is still a fairly strong presence.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Other than being Ginoza’s father, he presents himself as an elderly persona everyone can go to for advice whenever they feel lost. And with what they have to go through with every horrifying case (especially the plastination case and Yuki’s death), he’s well needed.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
I think, the only existence of such a person/character is encouraging. He’s like those old people that always know what to say. Why did Ginoza offend him so much, Masaoka seems like such an amazing fatherly figure!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’ve watched this episode three times since the release and I think my thoughts are in order now. There were a lot of complaints that the quality wasn’t good this time. I must have downloaded the updated version Funimation simulcasted because, honestly, I didn’t see anything wrong.
I wasn’t surprised when the chief came out of the car at the start even though she was supposed to be in the crash. It was kind of expected. If multiple drones and Dominators can mass produced, why not more of the chief androids for the Sibyl system to manipulate? Another thing, her methods of sweeping things under the rug is getting sloppy. Anyone who’s observant would notice the chain of events don’t add up and people will get suspicious.
Akane is officially Kougami’s keeper, whether it’s good or bad. From the moment she joined, she’s mostly had a hand in whatever state he ends up in. It’s the second time she saved him but also it’s the second time she shot him with the paralyzer. She needs to keep on her toes now she knows the chief can hack the Dominator and surely the chief is onto her.
As an idealist, she’s conflicted. She has a strong sense of justice but accepts the fact that it’s for the greater good to keep order even if it’s through a lie as she suspects something is seriously wrong with the system and I agree with her. The less people know about things like Makishima being able to go against Sibyl without a problem, the better chance for stability. If the truth was out, people would riot because a person is smart but people are dumb, panicky animals when they’re ready.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
I didn’t see much wrong either in terms of quality. I was more focused on what was happening anyways.
The chief’s appearance in the car was just like Kyuubey reappearing every time Homura shot him. Urobuchi likes to have villains with many bodies, or something.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
The quality wasn’t that good, but it didn’t really bug me either. I only noticed it when I was taking screenshots.
The Chief can’t be killed as long as Sibyl exists! Still, it was kind of ominous to see her re-appear after getting her legs broken and head bashed in. Everyone knows something is up, but the problem is that they can’t do anything about it. The Chief isn’t fooling anyone.
I’ll be curious to see her decision in the end, if she finds out the truth about Sibyl. Like you said, she loves justice, but she also loves public order.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’m curious to see how things will go with Kougami leaving the agency. Surely the Sibyl System is going to declare a target to be destroyed now since it’s often been said that those who run away are automatically outlaws. Meaning what Akane will have to do to him will be set in stone and even if he finds a way out, things won’t go back to the way they were. He might have live the rest of his life in exile at the cost of one person who he feels is worth the price.
Hopefully Ginoza isn’t as gullible as he appears to be when the chief took over his Dominator. There are good odds his Dominator recently had maintainance. I admire him going outside the box to use a loophole through the chief’s orders which shows he isn’t completely obediant and that he’s capable of thinking for himself. Though having his plan blow up in his face and almost getting punished must have rattled him a bit.
Akane has grown since the first episode and is capable of going on her own which is a big plus but there needs to be more character development for the others like Shion. Her saying she and Kougami should have slept together opened a door where we could learn more about her since she was hardly shown at all.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
The QUALITY parts I saw were things like Masaoka’s mouth having two states: closed and big open trapezoid, Kougami’s face looked goofy when he was standing there waiting to get shot by Ginoza, etc.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I was too into the story to notice anything at the time. All of that must have been raw footage the studio forgot to edit out or something because I saw comments from MAL saying the studio was apologizing for the bad quality.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
LOL big open trapezoid is a painfully accurate description…
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 88 comments
I already saw Kougami’s departure a mile away. There’s no way he could do his shit while he’s being trolled around by the bureau. Being a good guy that he is, he wouldn’t want Akane to get screwed the way he did.
And Ginoza is out of the question. His only “redemption” in this show is when he stops being a tightwad. Or when his dad dies.
Then again, this is Akane we’re talking about. She will go after him regardless.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I was expecting him to rebel, but I never thought ahead enough to picture him leaving the entire police force. I thought he might find a way to just act out during a regular case, but once he was put under surveillance then he was left with no other choice. I won’t be surprised if Akane chases after him in some form though.
I feel bad for Ginoza…like he’s just a sensitive guy with a bunch of bad circumstances and events thrust onto him in a society where you’ve got to be tough. I really hope he finds a better way of living by the end of this and doesn’t just suffer miserably.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
I feel bad for ginoza, because in reality he’s a sweetie. He just didn’t have the chance to be weak, when he needed to, and all that confusion and pain just added up over the years. That’s the reason why he’s so uptight and strict about following the rules and stuff. At least I think so.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
I feel a bit sad that Kougami is leaving, but in the end, he is a determined type and really wants to get his revenge on Makishima. He has an old style of justice, following the evidence he has seen from all the killings of Makishima and his puppets. So naturally he wants to go out there and get the job done.
On the other hand, Akane really believes in the Sibyl System and what it has done. She works with the people it placed into an awful situation of not being able to rejoin society and yet she holds onto her ideals. She knows it is broken because of Makishima. Yet she holds on to the ideal of stability under the system even if everyone isn’t happy. In terms of thinking about order, she has the right logic. But I worry that she doesn’t realize that not everyone is happy because they cannot pursue their own aspirations and be free to choose their lives. The Sibyl-society is based on success. And to me at least, success is not always happiness.
But obviously Makishima’s happiness is just awful and he needs to be killed or something to protect others. Even though he is the one who wants to change society to get rid of the Sibyl ideals. Now, if he wasn’t such a terrible person, I would root for him more. But I can’t.
Well, we’ll see what happens. We’re on the final stretch. I’m torn between wanting a true Urobuchi ending and wanting him to spare a few people.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I think Akane is aware of the shortcomings of the Sibyl System, but just wants the option that makes the most amount of people happy. To her, keeping Sibyl’s reputation up is better than just revealing the truth and getting rid of it. On the other hand, I don’t think Kougami even cares about Sibyl. He just has to kill Makishima.
I’m a big fan of Makishima so I’m going to feel bad when he dies…but it needs to happen for Kougami to get over his past. I have no idea how crazy Urobuchi will go with killing off his characters, but I know he won’t hold back. This both frightens and excites me. I don’t even know who I’d want him to spare!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
It’s going to be a tough choice between outcomes because Makishima is one of the few villains that manage to outshine the heroes and make the audience root for him to win. I see him as the type of villain the Joker was in The Dark Knight: Cruel, sadistic and charismatic. He does these vicious things because he believes that’s how people really are.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
For me, I want to see Akane spared. She’s such a great character. Kougami is a lost cause, as is Makishima. Kougami will get his chance to kill Makishima, but Kougami will die at that point as well. Or a little later.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Ginoza makes it to the end, but if Urobuchi wants to make the point that always following the system is not good, then he won’t make it. Neither will Akane.
I can’t say I’m frightened or excited, more just waiting, knowing Urobuchi will kill who he needs to kill for his point. Just as he did with Madoka and Fate/Zero.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
It’s definitely not revenge, otherwise he would ditch the bureau long ago. I think it’s more about his sense of justice and also a piece of self-sacrifice. He knows that Makishima won’t get punished enough because of the system, and he knows that he will continue to kill, so in order to protect other people, he decided to go after him alone, without asking for anyone’s help. Of course, there is a piece of le cold dish in the back of his mind, but justice comes first, I think.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
I think it might be a revenge that put him past the line and realize that he can’t get it through the system. He needs the justice but it takes some kind of revenge on Makishima for what he has done. The two are similar/the same in my opinion as they would end up serving the same goal and since we don’t completely understand Kougami (he is a latent criminal, although with a bit more justice than the others) it could be one or the other.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
It could have been both, revenge and justice, because none of these can be really obtained through the system.
It wouldn’t surprise me is Shinya switched the tables after finding out about the nature of Sibyl. They spat that information out to us so fast, that he and Makishima have to be the center of the story now.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Wow. Another surprise.
This is the part when I sulk about something, even though I know it was the best way out of the situation. I think there will definitely be something interesting, because Shinya is now by himself and therefore, more accessible to Makishima. I wonder, will he(Makishima) make the move first???? I hope so. It would drive Shinya mad 😀
And Akane definitely deserves the title of one of the best girls in anime. The way she shot Shinya in the leg, that decision was pure art, I swear. There was absolutely NO other way out of that, and she found that single doorway. She’s definitely moe still, but she’s got some guts. I like it :3
Ginoza is way too egoistic. Or maybe instead of egoistic, he just started to open up to his father because of the difficult situation? He may have realized that he’s not as sharp/knowledgeable/brave as he thought he was, and he admitted that his father is wiser, and has more experience. I think that’s what’s happening.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
Ginoza isn’t egoistic. He started off as the “rule follower at all costs” type, which can seem a bit egoistic, but really isn’t. He just demanded that others follow the rules.
And now that he has seen that the rules are hard to follow in these situations, he goes to his father because his father was someone like him, but fell from glory. Ginoza wants to avoid that at all costs, and is coming to a point where he cannot follow the rules. His father would know what to do in those situations. The rules would have been what he went to in previous situations, for help.
That’s how I see it.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
I still think that deep inside, Ginoza admitted that this is the situation which he can not handle alone, not only because opposing the boss lady is nearly suicidal, but because he simply doesn’t know what to do. And he’s slowly opening up to his father, because everybody needs a shoulder to lean on from time to time. That’s what I like to believe.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Arggg, I need to watch the next episode! But…I also need to study. *sigh* Anyways, I wonder what kinds of things we’ll see from our escaped convict? Will he start anew?
I love Akane too. There are too many doormat female characters (or rampant tsunderes who are so prickly it’s just embarrassing to watch). It’s nice to see a woman with a spine for once.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Those studies. =3= Sometimes I wish that one hour of sleep would be enough for me. Imagine, all that free time *~* enough to study and watch anime too. *sigh* silly dreams TT^TT
Too bad it’s so rare in anime. Nothings more epic than a strong female lead 😀 a cool male protagonist is good, but when it’s a girl, that’s a whole different game.